It's Valentine's Day. I know, I know...a Hallmark holiday designed to get people to spend money on cards, flowers, and candy at high mark-ups. But at the gooey center of it all, a day that celebrates love, whether it be romantic, friendship or familial, can't be all that bad, especially if we celebrate it on our own terms.Here are a couple of links that share some love in our own tattoo way.

Finally, in the news this week, I fell in love with the story headlined "'My Little Pony' tattoos support bullied boy," which features a Texas tattooer who rallied clients in support a young boy who attempted suicide after being bullied. Upon learning about how the 11-year-old boy was tormented for his love of the cartoon "My Little Pony," Tony Wayne of Imperial Tattoo in Sugarland, Texas, began offering $20 "My Little Pony" tattoos, with the profits going to the boy's family, and the anti-bullying organization StopBullying.org. There are images and some interesting discussion of how tattooed people rallied in support because of the judgment and ridicule many of us have faced ourselves. [For a wonderful look into the adult fans of "My Little Pony," check "Bronies," a fantastic documentary on the culture.]

So those are my quick and dirty love links. And naturally, on this day I have to express my love for all of y'all who have been such an amazing support for this labor of love site. I kiss you!

The illustrated lecture and reading is given by our favorite tattoo scholars Anna Felicity Friedman and Matt Lodder, who will offer up tattoo history tied to romance and the macabre. Here's more on the talk from Morbid Anatomy:

Through illustrated slide lectures, Drs.
Friedman and Lodder will present comparative historical material to
provide context and deeper understanding and to separate fact from
fiction. Learn about wide ranging tattoo topics in both Western and
non-Western cultures and have questions answered that the stories raise.
Did people really preserve tattooed skin? What were people reading
about tattoos in the early twentieth century? Were Maori really tattooed
head to foot? What were the connections between Ukiyo-e and Japanese
tattooing in the Edo period?

And the stories... Come hear the
account of a young Maori woman and an English sailor who had himself
completely tattooed to gain her favor, only to be forcibly returned to
his ship (in John Rickman's 1781 travel narrative from Captain James
Cook's third voyage). Cringe at the tale of a businessman tattooed in
Italy with an elaborate scene, but who was prohibited from ever showing
it to anyone, swimming, or leaving the country (in Saki's 1911 "The
Background"). Shudder at the story of a Japanese woman lured into a
tattooer's studio, drugged, and forcibly tattooed (in Junichiro
Tanazaki's 1910 "Shisei (The Tattooer)"). Enjoy the fantasy of a young
and not-yet famous Chaim Soutine who, during a bacchanalian evening,
rendered a dorsal portrait of a tattoo artist's wife that later
mysteriously turns up as a "canvas" in an art gallery (in Roald Dahl's
1952 "Skin"). Additional images related to the stories will be screened
during the readings.

Anna also told the Brooklyn Daily: "There's some short stories about tattooing and romance, which are kind
of creepy and weird. They always end with death, or
some macabre consequence like being splashed with acid, or having the
tattoo flayed off the skin."

Sounds like an average Thursday night for Brian & I, so we'll be there. I hope to see y'all as well. It's only $5 for admission, so you can bring a few dates to Tragic Tattoo Tales.

Also, check out Anna's irreverent Valentine's Day mini-series on Tattoo History Daily (which includes the images in this post). It's not related to the lecture content, necessarily, but similarly cynical and awesome.

A pair of lovers, part of a trio posted on Tattoo History Daily. From Riecke, 1925.

There's a common cliche among Valentine's Day haters that we don't need a corporate-created pseudo-holiday to spread some lovin. "We should express our love every day," say the damn hippies. But I don't care about any of that. Whether single or coupled, Valentine's Day for me is about the chocolate.

Bringing together my chocolate and tattoo obsession are Brooklyn homies BCake NY and Alex McWatt of Three Kings Tattoo, who teamed up to create old school flash-styled Valentine's Day cakes and cupcakes.

Woohoo! They're available right now to be personalized and delivered anywhere in the five boroughs in time for Tuesday if ordered by tomorrow, February 10th.
Personalized cakes are $75.00 and a dozen cupcakes are $45 (including delivery).